Happenstance
by KaptainSarcasm
Summary: Based on LiveAction PGSM: Pure WAFF for your enjoyment. ReiMinako, AUish, no senshi, totally shoujoai. And that's all you need know.
1. Prologue

The Crown karaoke bar and arcade was not exactly Rei's favourite place in the world, but it was Usagi's, so she went. They all went. Usagi and Rei sang every time, but Ami rarely ever sang, and Rei'd be damned if she had ever heard Makoto sing. It wasn't like they went to the Crown every day, but when they did, the girls pressured Rei to no end about singing.

"You're the best singer here," complained Usagi. "You're as good as Aino Minako!"

Blushing, Rei looked away. "Don't be ridiculous. There's no way I'm as good as her."

Aino Minako was Rei's favourite singer. Once, they had all gone to an Aino Minako concert because Usagi had camped out all night to get them tickets. Camped out in the rain. On a school night. They had been OBLIGATED to go, lest Usagi's complaining drive them all insane. In any case, they had gotten awesome seats, only about five rows in. And that fact was what had resulted in the most amazing experience of Rei's life.

Minako was just finishing up the fan-favourite, "Romance." Rei had forgotten herself in the music, totally entranced with the girl on stage. When she finished, Rei cheered with the rest of the crowd, and Minako smiled and waved, her gaze sweeping the crowd. But it stopped. And it stopped right on Rei. Their eyes locked, and, it seemed to Rei, her smile became warmer, a smile just for Rei. A smile that she had never shown in any of her posters or magazine interviews.

But then the moment passed, and Minako launched into a new song.

Later, on the train home, Rei had asked her friends if they had noticed the singer looking at her. "Yeah, I thought she looked at me at one point, too!" agreed Usagi.

But Rei was certain. She had never been more certain in her life. Minako had noticed her, and had obviously seen something in her that Rei was not aware that she had.


	2. Hospitalization, Part 1

_"You were no ordinary drain on her defenses,  
She was no ordinary girl.  
Oh, inverted world!"  
The Shins, "One By One All Day"_

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The day that Usagi broke her ankle was more comical than anything. Rei had decided to take the day off, leaving the shrine closed. She was stretched out on her bed, reading a book titled, "Okay to be Gay: How to Be Gay and Safe" when her phone rang. Without moving her eyes, she reached over and picked it up. "Hello?"

"You are never going to guess what happened," said Makoto on the other end.

The brawny girl was calling from the hospital. Usagi had been running for a bus to Ami's house when she caught her foot on a curb and had broken her ankle. A kind passerby had helped her get a cab to the hospital and had called her mother, who called Makoto. Makoto was at the hospital because Usagi was scared and in pain, although she had been properly drugged and had thus allowed Makoto to leave the room long enough to make the phone call.

"She's okay though, except for the broken ankle. She'll have a cast for six weeks. I already called Ami, she's on her way. She feels responsible because Usagi was going to her house."

"Okay, and what do you want me to do?"

"I dunno, uh... Just come down here. For moral support."

"Okay." Rei paused for a second, and then said, "I'll bring some CDs. I think a little Aino Minako would cheer her up."

"That's a good idea. See you soon?"

"Yeah. Bye."

"Bye."

The miko hung up and crossed the room to her CD rack, casting a glance at her poster of Aino Minako. In truth, Rei had something of a celebrity crush on the singer, and had for a very long time. She was everything that Rei wanted in a girl, and was very talented, and was very smart, and Rei had read interviews and could tell that Minako had a great sense of humor. Rei selected Minako's first album and headed out, hailing a cab from the street in front of the shrine. As she already worked as a miko, Rei generally had more money than her friends and rather enjoyed taking cabs.

When she arrived at the hospital, she headed immediately for the front desk, asking for Usagi, telling them that she was family. She might as well be, anyway, she thought to herself. One thing that Rei had a habit of doing, however, was hearing directions and then immediately forgetting them. As such, she got lost. She wandered around the hospital, trying to find the right room number, trying to remember the room number. 412? 512? Is there even a 512? Or was it 215? She just couldn't remember. Something told her to try all of them. She knew it had a two in it. So she tried 215 first.

She tapped lightly on the door with the corner of the CD in her hand, and after a second, a confused, tired-sounding voice answered, "Come in." So Rei slid back the door.

It was not Usagi. It was Aino Minako. She was propped up in bed, reading "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I must have the wrong room," she said hurriedly, blushing lightly.

"It's okay." Minako caught her eye for a moment, half-smiling. It was so odd for Rei to see that half-smile in person after seeing it so many times in the magazines. She felt her stomach drop to her toes. "Is that my album?" asked Minako suddenly, looking at Rei's hand.

"Uh, yeah," laughed Rei. "I was bringing it for a friend. She broke her ankle."

Pouting sympathetically, Minako said, "That's too bad. But she'll be okay, she's probably too drugged up to see her own nose at this point."

"That's what I hear," replied Rei.

Minako's smile became more kind. "Come here, and I'll autograph it for you. Close the door though." Rei stepped into the room, carefully closing the door, then walked over to the bed. She was finding it oddly easy to act natural. "What's your name?"

Hesitating for a second, Rei said, "Well, make it out to Usagi. I think she could use a booster like this." Not meeting Minako's gaze, looking at the CD case, she added, "She really loves you."

The half-smile was back on Minako's lips, but this time it was a more amused type of smile. "Is that so? I'll sign this to Usagi, but you still have to tell me your name, okay?"

As if she had been startled suddenly, Rei laughed, "Oh, yeah. I'm Rei. Hino Rei."

"Nice to meet you, Hino-san. I'm Aino Minako."

"It's very nice to meet you, Aino-san." Grinning at each other, they shook hands. Minako took the CD case from Rei and reached over to her purse, taking out a marker. "You carry one of those around with you?"

"I get a lot of people asking me to sign things. I got tired of sending them away because I didn't have anything to write with."

"That's very kind of you."

"You can't be famous unless you love the fans," said Minako wisely, finishing her signature with a flourish. The note said, "To Usagi: Sorry to hear about your ankle. Hope you feel better. Love, Minako-chan."

Reading it, Rei grinned widely. "Usagi is going to die when she reads this. And she's going to kill me when she hears I met you." There was a pause. Minako seemed to be waiting for something.

"What, you're not going to ask me to go meet her?" asked Minako finally.

Rei chuckled. "No, of course not. First of all, she's probably so drugged up she won't even remember anything that happens today by tomorrow."

"That's true. And second of all?"

Looking at the singer, sitting there in the hospital bed, Rei shrugged. "You look tired."

A slow smile spread over the singer's lips. She seemed highly pleased with something. She didn't say anything for a little bit, but she finally said, "You should come visit me again tomorrow. I might get lonely in this stupid hospital."

Nodding, Rei agreed, "I'd like that very much." She felt like she should say something else, but she thought of poor Makoto, probably bored out of her mind. "I should go," she said as she got a mental image of Makoto sitting in a chair next to a sleeping Usagi, chin on her fist, staring off into space. Pity steeped through her being. "My friend who's watching over Usagi probably needs a break."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Definitely."

Turning to leave, Rei looked at the autograph, and then grinned. "Thanks again for this. It's really great." She walked over to the door and slid it open.

"Wait," said Minako suddenly, and Rei turned to look at her. "You never even asked me why I'm here."

Shrugging the same shrug that she had before, Rei said, "Even celebrities deserve their privacy. I thought it would be crossing a line to ask that." Without waiting for an answer, Rei left the room, sliding the door closed behind her.

Neither girl could resist the smile that crossed their lips, or the tiny little sigh.


	3. Hospitalization, Part 2

Usagi was fine, just a little shaken and annoyed, but she was certainly loving the attention. When Rei announced that she would be coming back to visit her again tomorrow, Usagi had ordered her to "come over and give me a hug!" Then she leaned back and pretty much immediately fell asleep.

Who could resist the charm of a drugged up Usagi? Certainly not Rei. But it was not the charm of her friend that drew her to the hospital the next afternoon. While she had told Usagi she would be there at three, she left her house at one-thirty in order to spend an hour with Minako. She felt almost as though she were sneaking around, even though she knew that it wasn't exactly a bad thing to go meet Minako.

When she arrived in front of room 215, she took a deep breath, calming herself. Ridiculous questions ran through her mind. What if Minako didn't remember her? What if she had just been practicing a formality in inviting her back? But then the look on the singer's face flashed through her mind, and she found herself raising her first to knock. The answer this time came sooner than yesterday's had. "Come in," called Minako. Rei slid back the door and was met with Minako's smiling face.

"Hino-san! How are you?" she greeted, looking absolutely ecstatic to have her there.

"I'm good. How are you feeling?"

"Oh, fine," she replied, waving off the question with a flick of her delicate hand. "Come, have a seat. How's your friend, Usagi?"

Rolling her eyes as she sat down, Rei laughed, "Still hospitalized and loving every minute. She's just eating up all the attention that everyone is giving her."

Minako chuckled at this. "It's good to see I'm not the only one who enjoys hospitalization. Since no one knows I'm here, there's no press or anything. All I have too deal with are the nurses, the doctors, my manager and," she looked at Rei, smiling in a way that let Rei know that she was kidding, "the occasional straggler."

"I can go if you don't want me here," offered Rei, moving to stand, also smiling in a kidding way.

"Don't be silly. I invited you, didn't I?" Rei resettled herself, and Minako looked away, smiling. "I'm just here because I'm tired, you know." She shrugged. "I get tired, working so hard. Sometimes I just need a vacation. And my manager suggested a foreign country, but I have an album to record, and a contract to uphold. I've got a concert in Kyoto in a couple of days."

"I know," said Rei immediately, and Minako looked at her. "I tried to get tickets. It was completely sold out."

Nodding, Minako's eyes widened. "I know. And it's a huge venue. There's going to be almost five thousand people there."

"Are you nervous?"

But her expression immediately became one of flippancy. "Please. I think it's scarier to perform for fifteen people, or one person, than it is for five thousand. If one of those five thousand people is not happy, I'm rarely going to hear about it. But with fifteen people, I'll hear about it. For sure. And that's more scary, to me at least."

Rei held up a finger. "But! What if you DO hear about that one unhappy person in the crowd?"

Thinking about this for a minute, Minako looked away from the other girl, raising her gaze to the ceiling. "It's very rare for one person to stand out in a crowd," she finally said, in a slow, calculated voice. Then, quite deliberately, she looked at her companion, locking their gazes. "When that does happen," she said, very quietly, "it's a very, very special occasion, and should not be forgotten."

For some reason, these words made Rei begin to blush, but she held herself in check. She kept her composure as she always could. "I agree. And when someone on stage acknowledges you, just one in a crowd, it is also a very, very special occasion that should not be forgotten about."

The conversation had gotten so off-track that Rei had to think to remember what they had been talking about. But Minako seemed to have other plans, as she perpetuated the next leg of conversation with a question. "So what do you do? You're still in high school, right?"

Shaking her head, Rei said, "No, I'm out. How old do you think I am, anyway?" Giggling, Minako shrugged apologetically. In truth, she and Rei were the same age, 21, and Rei pointed this out to her before continuing, "I work at a shrine."

Minako made an interested, "Oh?" noise, so Rei continued.

"I'm a miko, actually, at the Hikawa Jinja in Juuban. It's pretty much my shrine. I clean it, I run it, I do the bills and such... My grandpop used to do some of the work but he died three years ago. So now it's just me and sometimes my friends help out, and there's some volunteers."

"Really? Just interested people that come and volunteer?" inquired Minako, sitting up to listen.

"Erm... Well, yes, I suppose that's the jist of it. Some people are interested in arranging the events, some are interested in the decoration for the festivals, or they want to run the booths. But that type is rare so my friends usually do it."

Shaking her head slightly, Minako said, "That's fascinating. I've always wanted to work at a shrine, you know. I wanted to wear the red and white robes and sweep the path. I can't imagine a more peaceful life, can you?"

Snorting, Rei replied, "Yes, yes I can. A life without Usagi or maybe life in the mountains. That's the thing about working a shrine. The city is a hectic place, and its people come to shrines for peace and quiet. And I guess the reason I'm best at being miko is because I love the peace and quiet of the shrine. It's my most favourite thing in the world. But I feel like these people are intruding on my peace and quiet. They're just tourists."

Minako thought this over as Rei spoke, and when she finished, she came up with an immediate reply. "Ahh, but Hino-san, the people are the best part! You said yourself, they are from around the city, and they are looking for some peace and quiet. And I don't know what quiet you've been listening to, Hino-san, but lots of people doing quiet things is no louder than one person doing quiet things. Zero plus zero still equals zero."

Raising an eyebrow, Rei mused, "Spoken like a true superstar. I guess you just love large amounts of people more than I do." She looked at her hands, which were threaded together in her lap. "If you have time, you should come volunteer at my shrine. You can wear the robes and sweep the path if you like."

The singer practically jumped at this. "Really? You would let me do that?"

"Of course. I've done it my whole life, I think I can share the task a little bit."

"Your whole life?"

"Ever since I was a child," said Rei, nodding.

Grinning suddenly in a mischievous way, Minako leaned forward and said, "You must have some great arm muscles."

Without hesitation, Rei sat up straight, pushing her right sleeve back to her shoulder with her left arm. Then she made the classic muscle pose. Her arm was clearly well defined, not bulky but still firm. With a look at Rei to make sure it was okay, Minako reached out and touched her forearm. Warmth spread through Rei's whole body at the singer's soft hands on her skin. "Ooooh," Minako cooed. "Very nice. I wish I had arms like that. My legs are my strong point, really, because of all the dancing and running around I do." As she said this, she leaned down and pulled back her blanket, revealing her cute pink pajama pants, and sung her legs over the side, standing to her full height. She lifted one leg of her pajama pants and turned her ankle in a way that showed the firmness of her leg muscles.

For her part, Rei tried really hard not to imagine running her hand up those legs, or having them wrapped around her waist or her shoulders. For the most part, she failed. But she stood, too, to stop herself from staring. The two girls were almost equal in height; Minako was just a tiny bit taller. The singer let her pant leg drop again, and for a moment they stood looking at each other. Shaking her head almost imperceptivity, Minako said, "I don't know what it is. There's something about you that isn't the same as all my other fans. You're less hyperactive. It's almost like you don't even know I'm a superstar. You do know who I am, right?" she added jokingly.

"Of course I do," answered Rei immediately, showing some of her astonishment at Minako's presence. "I just have always been able to maintain a cool outer demeanor. Besides, as much as I worship you, you're still just another person. Just someone who, more than most people, I would love to get to know."

The singer looked at Rei with such a blank look that the miko was certain that she had said something wrong. Something she said must have offended her. But suddenly, Minako grinned, then stepped forward and lightly, ever so lightly, kissed Rei on the cheek. "That's probably the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me," she whispered.

Even with all the blood rushing to her head and her heart beating faster than a racehorse and her skin tingling with the nearness of the other girl, Rei still managed a roguish reply: "Then clearly people haven't told you enough nice things. Maybe I should talk to you more often."

"I would like that very much." She took a step back, and it could have been Rei's imagination, but she thought she saw a little blush on the singer's face. As Rei was just trying to get control of her heart rate and breathing again, Minako sat back down on the bed and asked, "So what else about the shrine? What would you have me do?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. Sweeping, cleaning, praying. If you're going to work at a shrine you have to pray." Rei resettled herself in the chair next to the bed. "And then I'll have you run the perimeter of the shrine seventeen times and do fifty pushups." She made the comment off-hand, as she was fixing her shoelace. "Just kidding," she added.

"I figured."

Time passed in a pleasant way and soon it was time for Rei to go and see Usagi. She was already two hours late. "I should go. Usagi's getting discharged today..." she suddenly trailed off on her sentence, as both she and Minako realized what that meant. This would be the last of their visits, unless one of them went out of their way.

"Okay," said Minako in a disappointed way. "This was fun, Hino-san."

"Yes, it was, Aino-san."

There was a lag as both girls avoided looking at each other. Finally, Minako took a deep breath, which caused Rei to look at her. Their eyes locked. "I remember you, you know. From that concert a couple of months back."

Rei's heart raced and her stomach dropped back into her shoes. "Oh," she managed to say.

"You stood out because I had a... I had a dream, once, and there was a girl in it, and it was... Well, I guess it was you. You know dreams, you don't get pictures, you get feelings, and when I saw you that night, and when I saw you yesterday afternoon, and... When I see you now... I get that same feeling." She ran a hand along her blanket, as if to give herself something to look at while she spoke. "And for the record," she added, "I'd like it if you called me Minako, and if I called you Rei."

Swallowing once, hard, Rei nodded and spoke. "I'd like that, too."

"Good. Then I'll see you again sometime, Rei-chan." Rei loved her name on Minako's lips.

"Yes. Hopefully soon, Minako-chan."


	4. Measurements

Some amount of weeks passed before anything else happened. Usagi nearly fainted when Rei gave her the autographed CD, and had almost thrown the CD case at the miko upon realizing that she must have met and had a conversation with the superstar Aino Minako ("AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN TELL ME!"). They all knew that she had met Minako, but they did not know the extent to which they had spoken.

Night after night, Rei lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to ignore the poster on her wall but not having it in her to take it down. She ran over their time together over and over. "She dreamt about me. She kissed me. Does she think about me?" she would wonder. "Does she remember me? Did she really dream about me? Does she still? Was that even real?"

But most of all, her question was: "Will I ever see her again?"

And then, one slow, partly cloudy afternoon, she did. Rei was sweeping the path, moving gracefully with a practiced ease in her stuffy miko's robes. The breeze brought the scent of a visitor, and looking up, she had seen the unmistakable form of Aino Minako climbing the stairs. When she noticed that Rei had seen her, she raised a hand and waved, smiling brightly. "Hi!" she called, quickening her gait to reach her new friend sooner. She jogged up to Rei, and very, very briefly captured her in a hug. But she pulled away before Rei could even blush. "How are you?" asked the singer, looking the other girl up and down, taking note of the robes.

"I should be asking you the same thing. How are you feeling? How did that concert go?"

But the singer waved away both of her questions as if they were nothing. "Child's play," she articulated. "In any case, I'm here to volunteer! Let's fit me for some of those sexy robes." She laughed and grabbed Rei's hand, leading her to the building. "C'mon, you get your own apprentice and it's Aino Minako!"

"What more can a miko ask for?" joked Rei, allowing herself to be led inside. "Okay, I'll fit you, but the robes won't be ready for a week or two."

"Shipping?"

"No, I make them." She stepped over to a full-length mirror in the hall. "Come here." She made Minako stand in front of the mirror, and then went to a drawer in the hall to retrieve paper, a pencil, and a tape measure. Thus began some of the most difficult three minutes in her life.

First she knelt down and measured the length of Minako's legs, one by one, carefully recording the measurements. She kept her eyes down, not trusting herself to look up at Minako or see if she was looking at her. It occurred to her this is probably just routine for Minako--attractive men, or even attractive women probably fit her all the time. This probably wasn't even an issue for her.

Slowly, she moved up a bit and measured her waist, which was amazing and skinny and made Rei blush. It took a lot of willpower not to lay her head against that flat, firm stomach concealed just behind the t-shirt. But she wrote down the measurement and stood, and with shaking hands, moved to wrap her arms around the singer to measure her bust.

But Minako reached out a hand, taking Rei's hand in hers, and then with the other she brushed the bangs away from the miko's eyes. When Rei shyly met her gaze, she could see a smile lingering in those beautiful eyes. The singer leaned forward and placed a soft, slow kiss on Rei's lips. The tape measure dropped to the ground. When she pulled away, Rei was close to tears. "Minako, why are you doing this?" pleaded Rei in a quiet voice.

"Because I like you, Rei." With that, she kissed her again, and this time it was fully returned.

They had almost made it to the bed when Rei finally gave in and lifted off the singer's shirt. As they passed by the poster of Aino Minako on the wall, Rei reached up and tore it down. Minako made a little noise in approval, although that could have been because of where Rei was now putting her hands.

An hour and a half later, the two girls lay exhausted in Rei's bed, the singer spooned up against the miko's side. Suddenly, Rei smiled and chuckled. "What?" drawled Minako.

"I barely know you," she pointed out, still chuckling, "and here we are."

Sitting up on her elbow and putting her head in her hand, Minako said, "I thought you read about me a lot, hmm? You should be an expert in me." She reached out and laced her fingers in Rei's hair. "What do you want to know? Ask me anything."

Pondering this for a second, Rei finally asked, "Okay, what about your parents? Why don't I hear about them at all?"

Minako shrugged. "Well, let's see. I was born in Tokyo, right in this area, but my dad had us move to England when I was seven for a business thing. That's where I started singing and dancing. Ballet, jazz, tap, you name it, I danced it. I also spent a lot of time with random people in karaoke clubs. It was easy to get in--I was a cute, young Japanese girl with a voice even cuter than my face. So when I was singing there one day, a talent executive heard me and immediately wanted me to go back to Japan and sign with him." She snorted slightly. "Of course my dad hated that, but my mom was supportive. So I fought him, and with my mom's help, I got emancipated. Now I live on my own, except for my cat, Artemis." She crinkled her nose cutely. "When I say it like that, it sounds almost irrational, like it was easy for me. But it wasn't. I gave up everything for my career."

"Do you regret it?"

"Never. Not once." She looked down at the girl beneath her, grinning again. "Especially not when I meet people like you."

"Oh, please. I saw that one coming a mile away."

But she kissed her warmly all the same.

When they broke apart, Rei joked, "So, do the tabloids know you're a lesbian?"

"Nope. Do your friends know?"

"Nope."

There was a heavy pause. Minako went back to twiddling Rei's hair, and Rei found herself lightly tickling Minako's arm. "What do you want out of me, Rei?" asked Minako finally. She seemed torn about something. "Is this what you wanted? Now that we've slept together are you going to stop wanting to see me? Did you mean it, what you said to me in the hospital? Do you really want to get to know me? Or should I just go?"

Rei smiled up at her, brushing her hair back behind her ear, then pulling her into a hug. "Don't leave, Minako. I want to see you every day." She lowered her voice, letting her words wash out in a comforting whisper. "I like you, too, Minako."

The singer sighed deeply into Rei's soft shoulder. "Thank goodness."

* * *

Author's Notes:

This was a comparatively difficult chapter for me to write. I'm not entirely satisfied with the results, so maybe one day I'll get off my lazy ass and re-write it. But for now... Enjoy the fluff!

The Kaptain of Sarcasm


	5. Together prt 1

Minako came to the shrine every day. When Rei asked her how she could afford to miss that much recording time, she simply said that they were done recording by one in the afternoon and that afterwards she came directly to the shrine. Soon Rei's schedule revolved completely around her superstar girlfriend. In the morning she prayed, then worked on sewing a new set of robes (she had finished the measurements without distraction, finally) until she opened the shrine at noon. She cleaned and met with the visitors until Minako came, who then helped with the cleaning, sporting the proper disguise. Some days were different though. Sometimes Minako would appear, drag Rei inside, and they wouldn't get any work done. Other times they would sit outside on a swing and talk, getting to know each other. At the three-week mark, they made the jump to spending nights together. Minako started to leave things at the shrine, like a toothbrush and toiletries and pajamas.

Somehow, in this time, Rei had managed to keep everything a secret from her friends. And Minako had managed to avoid the press. "We must just be super-good at hiding!" theorized Minako.

One particularly lazy morning, Minako was looking around Rei's room wearing a tank top and pajama boxers. Rei was laying back on the floor reading manga, also minimally dressed. "Who's in this picture?" asked Minako, picking up a frame and holding it up for the other girl to see. It was a picture of Rei and her friends in traditional shrine dressings.

"That's Makoto, Ami, Usagi and me at the Sakura blossom festival last year. We were a little bit drunk. I don't even remember who took that picture." Minako laughed and took the picture over to Rei.

"Your friends are so attractive. Should I be jealous?"

Rei lowered the manga just enough to waggle an eyebrow suggestively at the singer. "Maybe."

Minako dropped to her knees on the floor, still holding the picture, and leaned over to kiss Rei deeply. When she pulled away, she said, "There had better not be a reason to be jealous, or else you'll never get that again."

The singer had clearly won that round.

"So what are these ladies like?" she asked, holding up the picture, and Rei sat up and took it from her.

"Oh, well, you know, they're all very nice and loyal. Usagi's really ditzy and fun-loving. You two would get along grandly." Minako smacked her on the arm for indirectly calling her ditzy. "She's married, actually. She's a housewife now, her husband Mamoru is out of college. I think he makes quite a bit of money, doing something business-related." She looked at the picture, pointing to Makoto next. "Makoto is a really good cook, so she goes to like, the top cooking school in Toyko. She's also very athletic. Not very talkative though." Her finger moved to Ami. "And Ami is very quiet and incredibly intelligent. She's currently at the top university in the country for pre-med. She is going to be a doctor by the time she's 25, I bet."

"Wow," commented Minako, looking at the picture. "You have some impressive friends."

"And now there's you, Aino Minako, famous superstar singer."

"Damn right," was Minako's drawling reply.

She stood up again and resumed her nosing. Her exploration paused, however, when she noticed a shoebox sitting just inside the open closet door. The tip of a magazine article was sticking out. Looking at Rei to make sure there was no objection to her actions (the miko was once again buried in her manga), she pulled the box out and opened it.

Inside there were countless clipping of articles and interviews, all about her. There was also the poster, rolled up into a tube, on the floor. "Rei-chan, Why is this in the closet?" she asked, rather offended.

Looking up, Rei set aside her book and crawled over to sit next to the other girl. "Because, silly, once I had you for real, I didn't need these phony interviews any more. You may talk in them, but you don't talk," explained Rei, reaching out to pick up one of the interviews. "Besides, I can hold my own interviews with you any time now."

"Oh, please do," joked Minako, looking suddenly sultry.

"Well, Aino-san," started Rei, leaning in close to her, "what's going on in your romantic life?"

"I've got a girlfriend."

"Oh? And how is that?" drawled Rei.

"It's amazing," breathed Minako. One of Rei's hands had come to rest on her upper thigh and was moving upwards and her heartbeat and breathing quickened in anticipation. "Really amazing." The hand slipped under the waistband of her boxers, and she raised one of her arms to drape over Rei's shoulders for support, leaning her forehead against Rei's shoulder. "She's perfect." Her words broke off into a soft moan.

"I'm sure she feels the same way," whispered Rei, turning her head to nip lightly on Minako's ear, an action she knew that Minako loved. She stroked her slowly, almost agonizingly slow at first, and Rei loved every shudder, every movement, every shivering breath that Minako took. The singer let out a tiny little whimper, and Rei increased her tempo, pulling her closer, kissing her neck and shoulder. When she felt Minako's whole body tighten, then go limp, she slowed her pace before stopping, but didn't bother to move her hand as she let Minako regain herself.

Minako felt as though her body temperature had gone up eighty degrees in a very short amount of time. She knew that she was probably sweating, but she was too pleasantly numb to notice. She raised her other arm and hugged Rei more closely, inhaling her familiar scent, loving her warmth and her strength. With Rei, she didn't always have to be cheerful and friendly and strong. She could just be protected, just be comforted. Just... be loved. Pulling back to look up at the other girl, she stared into those dark, affectionate eyes that were watching her with such fondness. She wanted to tell her so bad, wanted her to know what she was feeling, but something held her back. So instead, she leaned up and kissed her, slowly and deeply, before taking Rei's hand and leading her back to the bed. If she couldn't tell her, she would show her.


	6. Together prt 2

Minako went away for a couple of days to do a show in Hiroshima. After she was gone, Rei was sad. She moped for a total of two hours, thirty-two minutes and seventeen seconds before her sadness turned into irritability. The next day, Usagi called her and they went out with the other girls. "Geeze, Rei, where have you been? I feel like I haven't seen you in forever," commented Makoto.

"Yeah, been busy with the shrine. Summer months, you know."

Ami nodded in understanding. "Yes, there are quite a bit of holidays for a shrine in the summer. You must be very busy. Do you need some help?"

At this, Rei shook her head. "I've got some volunteers. They help me out."

Shrugging, Usagi said, "Can't say we didn't offer."

They went to the Crown to do karaoke, but much to everyone's disappointment, Rei refused to sing anything by Aino Minako. "Why not?" complained Usagi. "You used to love her!"

Smiling to herself, Rei replied, "I still do." But that was all she would say on the matter.

"Have you guys heard?" asked Ami after Usagi finished up "Romance." "Apparently Aino Minako performed a lot of new songs during her concert in Hiroshima. They say that the lyrics hint that she's been seeing someone in secret. They say she wrote them herself."

Of course, Rei had oftentimes seen Minako sitting under a tree or on the porch swing with a notebook and pencil, writing away. Once she had been sweeping and had looked up to notice Minako staring intensely at her. When she leaned on her broom and waved, Minako had grinned widely and went back to her writing. But through it all, she would never let Rei see anything that she had been writing. Even when she had tried to sneak up behind the other girl and get a peek, she had heard her and jumped up, blocking any view she might have. "Nice try, you jerk," Minako had said, sticking her tongue out.

Now, at the mention of new lyrics, Rei's ears perked up. "Do you have any of the lyrics?" she asked Ami, hoping that perhaps she had been able to find them.

Frowning, Ami replied, "I tried, but no one has them yet. I'd say they'll be up as soon as the bootleg circulates."

"Oh," said Rei, slightly disappointed. By that time, she could just ask Minako herself.

"But," added Ami as a second thought, "I did hear that one of the songs was about a priestess and a shrine. That might be one to interest you, right Rei?"

Rei could hardly contain her blush as she nodded her consent.

Later that night, Minako called Rei. "Hey, Rei! Oh my God is it good to hear your voice."

"It's so good to hear you, too," replied Rei sincerely. And it was true, too. Just hearing Minako's voice made the ache in her stomach ebb away. "How are you?"

"I'm great! I did really great at the concert."

"I heard. New songs?"

"Lots." Rei couldn't see her, but she knew that Minako was probably twirling the phone cord on her finger. "I can't wait for you to hear them. Ever since becoming involved with you, I've just been immersed in inspiration."

"Do I inspire you that much?"

"All beautiful things inspire me, Rei-chan," replied Minako in a coy tone of voice. She knew that the comment would fluster Rei and did not expect a return comment.

As she expected, Rei changed the subject. She asked in an almost desperate way, "When will you be home?"

"Soon. My plane leaves early tomorrow. Do you miss me?"

"God, I miss you so much," Rei practically groaned. "The shrine is so empty and my bed is so big, and no one is... I don't like anyone as much as I like you. You're my..." she paused, but plunged on. "You're my most important person, Minako."

"And you're my most important, too, Rei-chan," replied the singer with a warm affection.

When Minako showed up at the shrine the next afternoon, Rei swept her into her arms and they practically fell over. The miko immediately surrounded herself with Minako, inhaling her familiar scent and loving those arms around her.

"I love you, Rei," was the first thing Minako said.

"I love you, too," replied Rei without hesitation.


End file.
